Secondly, flavours and characteristics using conical vs flat burrs. I bought a Niche Zero (conical burrs) to replace my trusty Macap M4 (flat burrs) and am noticing more bitter notes and less chocolate flavours with the Niche, as well as a reduction in body and creamy mouthfeel. This is confirmed by back-to-back testing both grinders on my flow control equipped Profitec Pro-700 at ~94c/201f and with no flow control voodoo magic used.

Is this just a conical vs flat burr thing? As my prep and all other factors are the same. I get no bitterness and great body/mouthfeel from the Macap at 94c on the Profitec, so I suspect it's not brew temp related.

Cheers
Steven

Hi Steven, thanks for your comment on the live stream!

I'm just starting to post here in the marketplace. I've limited myself to YouTube for the last decade and replying to posts there. I try as best I can to reply to every question and comment. It's tough to stay on top of them. It's often 20-30/day and I try to be thorough with detailed answers but I have to leave some time to do testing and videos!

In reference to flow tips. If you have not seen it, check out this video I posted about a week ago with 5 different flow profiles based on coffee type, age etc with most of the extractions done a Pro 700 at 200F:

It has some starting points to use. In general, I find a high flow to start, about 1 1/4 turns open for 15 seconds and then gently ramping down the flow to near zero at the end helps reduce bitter flavors. My favorite in the video using a not fresh Italian style blend was a lever style profile: Open 1 turn for 3 seconds, cut flow for 5 seconds then quickly open to 1.5 turns and ramp flow till end. One of the better shots I've had from a coffee I'm all to familiar with.

I can't comment specifically on the Niche as I have never used one. Not a great comparison, but I used the Sette and E37S in the last live stream and I have a slight general preference of the flavor of the larger flat burrs with many of the coffees I use. As with everything espresso so many variables so I'm not locked into that opinion.

Marc WLL wrote:My favorite in the video using a not fresh Italian style blend was a lever style profile: Open 1 turn for 3 seconds, cut flow for 5 seconds then quickly open to 1.5 turns and ramp flow till end. One of the better shots I've had from a coffee I'm all to familiar with.

I favor a similar "lever style" 4-9-6 bar profile, but it may be easier to new(bie) profilers to be more consistent by basing it on beverage weight, not time. For example, 4 bar until there's 6 grams of beverage, 9 bar until there's 24 grams, then trail off to 6 bar until the final beverage weight, 36 grams. Once they've had more practice, timing works equally well since the weight/pour times tend to become better correlated with experience.

Hi Marc, good live feed yesterday, really enjoyed it. I would like a live feed regarding water. Direct water vs tank, water types, filtering systems for direct plumb etc. maybe even suggested bottle water types.

A lot of folks are suggesting that flow control users follow the discussion about the Bianca. I contend that the Bianca is entirely different from any other e61 modified with one of your kits. It is my understanding that the Bianca changes out the stock e61 spring and, as far as I know, your kit, which I have on my Synchronika, keeps the stock e61 spring. In the Bianca changing out the spring effectively removes the inbuilt e61 preinfusion. In its place, the Bianca has preinfusion using the pump controller.

With the stock spring, your valve kit initially controls preinfusion time. Once the preinfusion is over (you can see it on the gauge and see coffee beginning to drip out), the control directly controls the flow, and thus the pressure in a complex relationship that depends heavily on the nature of the coffee puck. Once preinfusion is over, the Bianca and the non-Bianca kits operate more or less the same. I use the flow control a lot to set the preinfusion time on my Synk.

Could you please comment on this? I've seen some contradictory statements about a spring change with your kit. My kit came with no spring or any suggestion to remove or replace the old one (and I like it that way ).

Plinyyounger wrote:Hi Marc, good live feed yesterday, really enjoyed it. I would like a live feed regarding water. Direct water vs tank, water types, filtering systems for direct plumb etc. maybe even suggested bottle water types.

You're the best, stay healthy

Ken

Hi Ken, Thanks for the kind comment on the live stream. Regarding water I'll be doing a livestream on water filtration/treatment for espresso on Thursday, April 2, 1pm EST! Will include options for treatment in reservoir and plumbed machines.

I'm the only person with access to studio space so easy to keep the distance. Even with that a 2x a day disinfection procedure. Just finished the morning wipe down. So fun!

Good water makes good espresso and protects your machine from scale! Join me for a live stream tomorrow Thursday, April 2 1PM EST on water quality/filtration. I'll focus on the BWT premium solution for plumbed espresso machines and touch on options for reservoir fed. Like previous streams I'll take questions live. Or, ask after the stream here on HB or in YouTube comments for a detailed response. Got questions? Post them here before 12PM EST tomorrow and I'll do my best to give specific answers here or during the live stream.

Here is a link to the stream. I look forward to engaging with you tomorrow!

I'm sure you'll cover it, but just in case: Many first-time posters in the Water forum ask for help interpreting their water quality reports, often from their local municipality, not knowing whether they need to treat their water. What should espresso aficionados look for, and if key measurements are not provided by a trusted authority, what tests should they do?

Oops I think I may have missed the deadline by a few minutes. Since you are focusing on the bestmax, could you discuss situations where this type of softener (WAC resin, decarbonizing softener) may not be a good choice? Thinking especially about areas where the water has high chloride ion and/or low alkalinity.

Hi homeburrero, Thanks for the questions. With regards to high chlorides. The best way to deal with that is an RO system and then remineralze. Areas of the country with high chloride potential are coastal areas in Pacific Northwest, Massachusetts to Carolinas, South Florida and Gulf coast. Additionally they can be an issue in parts of US South West coast, Arizona and Nevada.
Marc

New Live Stream tomorrow especially for espresso newbies! We'll take a look at a very popular premium quality entry-level home espresso machine and grinder combo. The Gaggia Classic Pro and Baratza Sette 270. Stream will cover what's in the box and initial setup/use. We'll pull shots, steam milk and have lots of operational tips! I will take viewer questions or if you have any ask here and I'll try and answer during the stream. Join me at 1pm EST, April 7.